﻿2 
  20 
  NEW 
  YORK 
  STATE 
  MUSEUM 
  

  

  Somateria 
  spectabilis 
  (Linnaeus) 
  

  

  King 
  Eider 
  

  

  Plate 
  19 
  

  

  Anas 
  spectabilis 
  Linnaeus. 
  Syst. 
  Nat. 
  Ed. 
  10. 
  1758. 
  1:123 
  

   Fuligula 
  spectabilis 
  DeKay. 
  Zool. 
  N. 
  Y. 
  1844. 
  pt 
  2, 
  p. 
  334, 
  fig. 
  251 
  

   Somateria 
  spectabilis 
  A. 
  6. 
  U. 
  Check 
  List. 
  Ed. 
  2. 
  1895. 
  No. 
  162 
  

  

  specta'bilis, 
  Lat., 
  conspicuous 
  

  

  Description. 
  The 
  feathering 
  on 
  the 
  forehead 
  reaching 
  as 
  far 
  forward 
  

   as 
  the 
  posterior 
  end 
  of 
  the 
  nostril, 
  feathers 
  on 
  the 
  lores 
  reaching 
  only 
  halfway 
  

   to 
  the 
  nostril. 
  Adult 
  male: 
  Bare 
  space 
  on 
  side 
  of 
  upper 
  mandible 
  enlarged 
  

   into 
  a 
  broad 
  rounded 
  lobe; 
  top 
  and 
  back 
  of 
  head 
  bluish 
  gray; 
  V-shaped 
  

   mark 
  on 
  the 
  throat, 
  feathers 
  around 
  the 
  base 
  of 
  the 
  upper 
  mandible 
  and 
  

   small 
  eye 
  spot 
  black; 
  cheeks 
  greenish; 
  neck, 
  upper 
  back, 
  sides 
  of 
  ruinp 
  

   and 
  wing 
  coverts 
  white; 
  upper 
  breast 
  creamy 
  buff; 
  rest 
  of 
  pluixiage 
  black. 
  

   Female 
  and 
  young: 
  Like 
  the 
  American 
  eider 
  in 
  color, 
  but 
  the 
  feathering 
  

   about 
  the 
  sides 
  and 
  top 
  of 
  the 
  bill 
  like 
  the 
  male. 
  

  

  Length 
  20-25 
  inches; 
  wing 
  10.5-11.3; 
  tarsus 
  i. 
  8-1. 
  85; 
  bill 
  i. 
  25-1. 
  32, 
  

   female 
  2 
  inches. 
  

  

  The 
  King 
  eider 
  is 
  a 
  winter 
  visitor 
  on 
  the 
  coast 
  of 
  Long 
  Island 
  as 
  well 
  as 
  

   the 
  inland 
  lakes 
  of 
  New 
  York. 
  It 
  occurs 
  much 
  inore 
  frequently 
  than 
  the 
  

   American 
  eider 
  and 
  may 
  be 
  considered 
  a 
  regular 
  winter 
  visitor, 
  sometimes 
  

   being 
  decidedly 
  common, 
  as 
  in 
  the 
  winter 
  of 
  1879 
  on 
  Lake 
  Erie, 
  and 
  the 
  

   winter 
  of 
  1886-87 
  off 
  the 
  eastern 
  end 
  of 
  Long 
  Island. 
  Its 
  breeding 
  range 
  

   extends 
  from 
  the 
  Gulf 
  of 
  St 
  Lawrence 
  northward. 
  It 
  is 
  a 
  deep 
  water 
  duck 
  

   and 
  feeds 
  mostly 
  on 
  mussels 
  which 
  it 
  is 
  able 
  to 
  procure, 
  it 
  is 
  said, 
  in 
  water 
  

   upward 
  of 
  150 
  feet 
  in 
  depth, 
  and 
  occasionally 
  is 
  caught 
  like 
  the 
  Old 
  squaw 
  

   in 
  the 
  deep 
  water 
  gill 
  nets 
  of 
  the 
  lake 
  fishermen. 
  In 
  the 
  breeding 
  season 
  

   the 
  males 
  go 
  into 
  the 
  "eclipse" 
  pluixiage 
  and 
  flock 
  together 
  on 
  the 
  open 
  sea. 
  

   The 
  female 
  lines 
  her 
  nest 
  with 
  down 
  as 
  do 
  the 
  other 
  species 
  of 
  eider, 
  thus 
  

   furnishing 
  the 
  famous 
  eider 
  down 
  of 
  commerce, 
  which 
  is 
  gathered 
  by 
  the 
  

   natives 
  of 
  Iceland, 
  Greenland 
  and 
  Norway. 
  This 
  is 
  taken 
  chiefly 
  from 
  

   the 
  Greenland 
  and 
  European 
  eiders, 
  each 
  nest 
  yielding 
  about 
  5 
  ounces 
  

   of 
  down 
  in 
  a 
  season. 
  

  

  The 
  following 
  are 
  some 
  of 
  the 
  records 
  for 
  the 
  interior. 
  

  

  Onondaga 
  lake. 
  Jan. 
  20, 
  1877. 
  c? 
  adult. 
  Auburn 
  List, 
  p 
  39 
  

   Buffalo, 
  N. 
  Y. 
  Nov. 
  26, 
  1879. 
  (18 
  shot). 
  Allen, 
  N. 
  O. 
  C. 
  Bui., 
  5: 
  62 
  

  

  